Post by Ambassador Torkie on Nov 6, 2015 21:27:57 GMT -5
{Trivia I: Characters}
DLN – 000
DLN – 001
DLN – 002
DLN – 003
DLN – 004
DLN – 005
DLN – 006
DLN – 007
DLN – 008
Doctor Albert W. Wily
Doctor Thomas Light
{Trivia II: Story}
DLN – 000
- Name: The name "Cardinal" was chosen after searching for a synonym to "Proto". It just so happens to fit in with his color scheme.
- Appearance:
—Cardinal has bright green eyes. It is unknown if his was a modification by Wily or not.
—Most of the time he wears his helmet—even when he doesn't wear the helmet, he wears his sunglasses visor. His helmetless design is based off of this piece by dA user RokusukeTanaka. - Other:
—Cardinal is frequently mentioned in Sons of Anarchy, but he never makes an appearance during the main part of the story.
—Cardinal did not go to Doctor Wily until a few years after Sons of Anarchy was over.
—At the end of the events following Empire of Corruption, Dr. Light and Rock are unaware Cardinal is still alive, Rock doesn't know who he is, and Roll isn't aware he even exists.
DLN – 001
- Name: Because they knew him before he got the combat programming, his brothers call him "Rock" in this story.
- Appearance: Mega is not associated with the color blue or his nickname "The Menace" in this story, because he wasn't yet known for that. This is where the name and reputation originally came from.
- Personality:
—Mega gets a more sympathetic outlook in this version. His brothers thought well of him… past tense.
—This is the first time we really see the extent of Rock's guilt over killing RobotMasters.
—Mega's control over his combat program strengthens with time, partially due to Dr. Light's repeated (but insufficient) attempts to change it.
DLN – 002
- Name: This is the first time that Roll is stated to be a sort of "second-half" in a pair of siblings with Rock.
- Personality:
—We see two "variations" of Roll in this story: Roll as she was eighteen years ago, and Roll as she is at the conclusion of Empire of Corruption. She matures during this time.
—Roll cares deeply for her family, and expresses loneliness and sorrow at all the loss. She's a very gentle person.
DLN – 003
- Name: His brothers call him "Scissors", partially because of his appearance and abilities, and partially as a play on "Rock, Paper, Scissors".
- Personality:
—Cut was very protective of his brothers, and was rather sore to hear they were being killed off. He was convinced that the Menace was truly evil, which is why he was so aggressive during their fight. - Other:
—Power capsules for the Rolling Cutters are among the material confiscated by Cardinal in Empire of Corruption.
—The Rolling Cutters are very dangerous. Jaden and Tobias are known to be weak to them, and most RobotMasters tend to react very strongly when they hear the weapon mentioned.
—Metal was based off of CutMan's design, which is another thing that makes DLN-003 feared despite a lack of obvious cruelty in his personality.
—His font color is Dark Orange.
DLN – 004
- Name: GutsMan does not have a nickname.
- Appearance:
—Next to his brothers, GutsMan is massive. To date, the only RobotMaster who is larger is HardMan. - Personality:
—GutsMan is not lazy, but he does like to take his time while working. He prefers not to be rushed.
—Despite his appearance, he is not dull-witted or simple-minded. He took great offense at how he was treated once he realized he was being bullied.
DLN – 005
- Name:
—The nickname "Snowcone" was chosen after the food.
—Snow is stated to have chosen his own name because Rock had a name, so he wanted one too.
—Most people call him "Snow" because it is shorter.
—This has led to a few people calling him "SnowMan" by mistake. He doesn't like being called that. - Appearance:
—Snow's coat is very well insulated, though it does actually have several vents running through it for ventilation. The exterior is fabric, though the interior layer does have metallic properties. It is more for show and protection from the weather than for keeping Snow warm.
—Snow's hair is black and white, and slightly curly.
—Snow has blue eyes, though they turn green when he is upset.
—Snow is the shortest of his brothers. - Personality:
—Snow is extremely childlike and very friendly.
—Snow likes to explore, mostly because that's what he was built for. - Other:
—Like Nico, Snow is an Ensemble Darkhorse. He was originally not planned to have many appearances because he was split up from Tobias, but he sort of squeezled his way in due to being around on the Taco before the story had concluded.
—Snow was the one to give Tobias his nickname.
—Snow is the only known RobotMaster to have never fought back against the Menace or used his weapon as an actual weapon.
—His font color is Light Cyan.
DLN – 006
- Name: Bombman was occasionally called "TNT", though none of his brothers knew that.
- Appearance: Compared to his brothers, Bomb looks a bit chubby.
- Personality: Bombman's personality was influenced largely by his song, but it is also based off of Jaden's personality.
DLN – 007
- Name: FireMan was called "Torch" by Snow sometimes.
- Appearance: FireMan notably has no hands, which is one reason why IceMan was sent with him when the RMs split up.
—FireMan is much taller than Snow. He's about as tall as GutsMan, though significantly more willowy. - Personality: Fire was quiet and somewhat serious, but humored Snow's childlike behavior. Despite his weakness to Snow's weapon, he didn't seem afraid of his older brother.
- Other: His font color is Fire.
DLN – 008
- Name:
—Although he has a nickname, people seem to use his project designation ("Elec") almost as much as his nickname.
—Many of the RobotMasters consider "Thomas" a more fitting name for him than "Tobias", but prefer "Tobias" since "Thomas" is Dr. Light's first name.
—The name "Tobias" was chosen based off of a character from the Animorphs book series.
—Snow calls his brother "Toby" as a shortened version of the nickname. He is the only person Tobias allows to call him that. - Appearance:
—Tobias is about the size of Cardinal. He is fairly evenly proportioned, unlike many of his brothers.
—Tobias looks weak compared to some of his brothers because he lacks a heavy exterior armor. Like Cardinal, his yellow boots are removable.
—He wears a fitted cap that covers his head. His mask is removable, though he almost never takes it off.
—Tobias has dark brown hair and blue eyes. - Personality:
—Tobias is very determined and slightly theatrical. He gets very excitable about his hobbies, and works very hard toward his goals.
—He's somewhat of an idealist, which can make him come across as very nïave at times.
—He's often described as a "live wire", which is also a play on his electrical abilities.
—Tobias is a loyal friend, though it is hard to earn his trust.
—Like some of his other brothers, he has shown to take loss and grief very hard. - Other:
—Wily was heavily involved in Elec's creation and is the one who gave him his Emotions program.
—Elec considers Wily his father. Wily considers Elec his son.
—Speedy's design and personality were based off of Tobias.
—Elec was the one who sealed the files for the majority of the DLN series, which is why they remained locked during I Am the Law and Empire of Corruption. It was Speedy's interference in the system which awakened Elec's dormant programming.
Doctor Albert W. Wily
- Name:
—Wily was once on a nickname-basis with Light. Light still refers to him as "Albert" or "Al" when thinking of him as a friend.
—Most of the Robot Masters call him "Doctor". Some refer to him as their Father or father-figure, but Tobias is the only one to call him "Dad". - Appearance:
—When Wily was much younger, he looked strikingly like Diego Armando. - Personality: Ambitious and idealistic, his jealousy and pride eventually drove him to extremism. After Tobias was killed, he snapped and became extremely vengeful, determined to take his vengeance on Dr. Light by destroying his son, just as his son had been destroyed.
- Other:
—Wily is the superior AI&A programmer, though the results are not very predictable.
—A lot of the Robot Masters he built or tampered with have green eyes or eyes that turn green when angered.
—He is believed dead by everyone as of the end of Empire of Corruption.
Doctor Thomas Light
- Name: Light was once on a nickname-basis with Wily. Wily used to refer to him as "Thomas" or "Tom" when thinking of him as a friend.
- Personality:
—Dr. Light was a very proud man, and also very controlling. He didn't take well to being undermined or having his projects react unexpectedly. This made him narrowminded at times, which had devastating consequences.
—He comes to DEEPLY regret how he behaved during Sons of Anarchy as time goes on and he sees what it has done to society, the field of Robotic Science, his company, his coworkers, his (former) friends, his reputation, and his family.
—He's very much a family man and deeply loves Rock and Roll. He also cares for Blues, though he's never done the best job of showing it. - Other:
—Though he is not a violent man and has learned from his mistakes, the DWN series is afraid of him.
—Cardinal possesses an intense hatred of Dr. Light and considers him one of his two worst enemies.
—Dr. Light never intended for Mega's combat programming to be so violent, but it ended up being far more ruthless than he could control.
{Trivia II: Story}
DID YOU KNOW?
Although Sons of Anarchy takes place prior to I Am the Law, it was written after Empire of Corruption. This had some interesting effects on the development of the story.
PLOT
CHARACTERS
Although DLN-005 does not appear to have a large role in the story, he is one of the most two developed characters of his generation. In order to compensate for his lack of screentime, the following was put together.
He was looking up at the sky, touching the snow. It was so beautiful. Everything about him felt so alive right now—he knew the temperature in four different scales, the humidity, the barometric pressure, the forecast, the exact type of precipitation…. He could spend all day out here.
He didn't really mind that the scientists were all watching him right now. It was time to explore and learn more.
———————————————————————
He felt apprehensive as the Doctor took him away. He was sure this was against the rules. He didn't understand why the scientists had left him all alone and then the Doctor had taken him away. He wanted to call one of the scientists but the Doctor told him to be quiet.
It was probably just another test. So he was quiet.
———————————————————————
He laughed and skipped around a pile of snow. It felt so good to be awake. His brother was a little quiet, but he was happy just to get the chance to play. He was so excited, so eager to go explore for real, now. He wouldn't have to be alone anymore. He was going to be a famous explorer and make ice sculptures after he retired. And maybe in between, too.
He couldn't understand why his brothers were all so serious. Being aware was so much fun—why weren't they celebrating?
———————————————————————
He curled up tightly, waiting for his brother to say it was okay. Hiding was scary, but the fights were scarier. Big men in big motor vehicles with big guns had told them to go with them. He said no because he wasn't supposed to let strangers tell him what to do. Then they started shooting at them. They had run away, so now they were hiding.
He didn't like strangers very much.
———————————————————————
He giggled and rolled around on the ground. They were hiding in an igloo right now. He had made it snow really hard, and now they wouldn't be looking for him or his brothers. He felt so proud of himself.
His brother was kind of making a face, but that was okay. He threw a snowball at him and watched him melt it almost instantly with a blast of fire. Absentmindedly, he wondered if his brother would enjoy roasting marshmallows.
———————————————————————
His brother wouldn't let him play in snow anymore. Something very bad had happened. Now they were running all the time. He didn't like running; he was super short. His brother carried him most of the time. Even though it slowed his brother down, it was still much faster than if he had run on his own.
He didn't know what was going on, but his brother wouldn't answer any questions.
———————————————————————
He laughed as they raced against the dust cloud. His brother didn't seem to mind the desert or the sand. He didn't find it as fun as snow, but it was nice to see his brother smile. He cheered as his brother placed him on his shoulders, allowing him to see even further. There were so many strange plants around, all leathery and prickly.
It was too bad they had to keep running.
———————————————————————
His brother wouldn't smile anymore. He just told him to be quiet and be still. It was very uncomfortable and very hot, and the trip was taking a long time. He was scared to be in a plane and not see anything. He was so worried any time the plane jolted. It sent meat all over him, and he was sure if he were a biobeing he would have been sick.
He was glad they were going up north, but hiding in a meat shipment wasn't what he had had in mind.
———————————————————————
It was beautiful, so beautiful. He hadn't seen anything like it before. Everything was so green, full of bright color. Everything had always been so dusty or white. His brother was more relaxed now, so for a while they stopped running. He couldn't help but wonder what snow would look like on the leaves.
The people seemed nice here, even if he couldn't talk with them.
———————————————————————
Everything was up in fire. He had never seen fire all-consuming. He felt trapped, and the heat was becoming unbearable. He couldn't see anything through the smoke—it was messing up his air quality sensors terribly, and he was screaming, screaming his brother's name. Somewhere he heard the frantic, hysteric call of his other brother, far, far away.
His systems suddenly crashed and started to shut down as something very loud and powerful tore him apart.
- Sons of Anarchy was decided upon near the end of Empire of Corruption.
- The radio show Elec listens to in the story is modeled after real radio broadcasts.
- IceMan was not originally a main character, but after he became popular during development, the story was tweaked to allow him more screentime.
- Sons of Anarchy is the first Machines of War story to be outlined in entirety before actually beginning the writing process.
- When Speedy showed the Menace replays of his brothers' deaths, the deaths of the DLN series were not included because the files were locked. This story explores what was missing from the data banks.
- Snow's personality in the series is different from how he is depicted in his song.
Although Sons of Anarchy takes place prior to I Am the Law, it was written after Empire of Corruption. This had some interesting effects on the development of the story.
PLOT
- The main plot of the story was going to follow the first generation of robot masters, but there had to be some sort of explanation as to why the majority of the events did not play a noticeable influence on later stories.
- The characterization of Dr. Wily and Dr. Light became essential to the story, partially out of a need to explain why they worked together in Empire of Corruption.
- Because the files were locked during I Am the Law and Empire of Corruption, it became necessary to use a framing device to show that the files were unlocked in the aftermath of Empire of Corruption.
- Because it is stated in I Am the Law and Empire of Corruption that the first six Robot Masters were destroyed, having any known survivors from Sons of Anarchy would create a contradiction. The use of Elec's escape into the Cloud and encryption of all his files and those of Snow was inspired by a similar event in Empire of Corruption when faced with a logistical problem regarding Speedy's role in the story.
CHARACTERS
- It is stated that Quickman was based off of ElecMan. Surprisingly, this played very little influence on the characterization.
- Bombman, however, was influenced by Jaden's characterization.
- IceMan was not originally a main character, but after he became popular during development, the story was tweaked to allow him more screentime.
- References to I Am the Law and Empire of Corruption were worked in for humor and irony. Can you name them?
Although DLN-005 does not appear to have a large role in the story, he is one of the most two developed characters of his generation. In order to compensate for his lack of screentime, the following was put together.
He was looking up at the sky, touching the snow. It was so beautiful. Everything about him felt so alive right now—he knew the temperature in four different scales, the humidity, the barometric pressure, the forecast, the exact type of precipitation…. He could spend all day out here.
He didn't really mind that the scientists were all watching him right now. It was time to explore and learn more.
———————————————————————
He felt apprehensive as the Doctor took him away. He was sure this was against the rules. He didn't understand why the scientists had left him all alone and then the Doctor had taken him away. He wanted to call one of the scientists but the Doctor told him to be quiet.
It was probably just another test. So he was quiet.
———————————————————————
He laughed and skipped around a pile of snow. It felt so good to be awake. His brother was a little quiet, but he was happy just to get the chance to play. He was so excited, so eager to go explore for real, now. He wouldn't have to be alone anymore. He was going to be a famous explorer and make ice sculptures after he retired. And maybe in between, too.
He couldn't understand why his brothers were all so serious. Being aware was so much fun—why weren't they celebrating?
———————————————————————
He curled up tightly, waiting for his brother to say it was okay. Hiding was scary, but the fights were scarier. Big men in big motor vehicles with big guns had told them to go with them. He said no because he wasn't supposed to let strangers tell him what to do. Then they started shooting at them. They had run away, so now they were hiding.
He didn't like strangers very much.
———————————————————————
He giggled and rolled around on the ground. They were hiding in an igloo right now. He had made it snow really hard, and now they wouldn't be looking for him or his brothers. He felt so proud of himself.
His brother was kind of making a face, but that was okay. He threw a snowball at him and watched him melt it almost instantly with a blast of fire. Absentmindedly, he wondered if his brother would enjoy roasting marshmallows.
———————————————————————
His brother wouldn't let him play in snow anymore. Something very bad had happened. Now they were running all the time. He didn't like running; he was super short. His brother carried him most of the time. Even though it slowed his brother down, it was still much faster than if he had run on his own.
He didn't know what was going on, but his brother wouldn't answer any questions.
———————————————————————
He laughed as they raced against the dust cloud. His brother didn't seem to mind the desert or the sand. He didn't find it as fun as snow, but it was nice to see his brother smile. He cheered as his brother placed him on his shoulders, allowing him to see even further. There were so many strange plants around, all leathery and prickly.
It was too bad they had to keep running.
———————————————————————
His brother wouldn't smile anymore. He just told him to be quiet and be still. It was very uncomfortable and very hot, and the trip was taking a long time. He was scared to be in a plane and not see anything. He was so worried any time the plane jolted. It sent meat all over him, and he was sure if he were a biobeing he would have been sick.
He was glad they were going up north, but hiding in a meat shipment wasn't what he had had in mind.
———————————————————————
It was beautiful, so beautiful. He hadn't seen anything like it before. Everything was so green, full of bright color. Everything had always been so dusty or white. His brother was more relaxed now, so for a while they stopped running. He couldn't help but wonder what snow would look like on the leaves.
The people seemed nice here, even if he couldn't talk with them.
———————————————————————
Everything was up in fire. He had never seen fire all-consuming. He felt trapped, and the heat was becoming unbearable. He couldn't see anything through the smoke—it was messing up his air quality sensors terribly, and he was screaming, screaming his brother's name. Somewhere he heard the frantic, hysteric call of his other brother, far, far away.
His systems suddenly crashed and started to shut down as something very loud and powerful tore him apart.